In the Know: New eateries at Shoppes at Vanderbilt in North Naples

2 eateries recently opened and 2 more are coming this fall to the retail center on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten

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Bite-sized desserts include Key lime pie, cheesecake and carrot cake at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.(Photo: Tim Aten/Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

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Cheesecakes are among the many desserts and pastries available at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Russ Underwood and Marina Nikolic co-own Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe that recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Bite-sized desserts include Key lime pie, cheesecake and carrot cake at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Bagels at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Pie at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Filled cupcakes at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Carrot cakes and cheese cakes are specialties at at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Russ Underwood and Marina Nikolic assist customers at their Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe that recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Cookies at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Pies and cheesecakes at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Gluten-free chewy chocolate pecan cookies at Angelic Desserts bakery and café, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Marina Nikolic hand rolls and cuts baklava in the kitchen of Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe that recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Baklava at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Cookies at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Sales of these special cookies benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe recently opened next to Pei Wei Asian Diner in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.
Tim Aten/Naples Daily News

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Local resident Marina Nikolic, who co-owns and manages the bakery with partner Russ Underwood, is responsible for the glorious creations. She proves to be a true artist in the kitchen, making all the fresh pastries and desserts from scratch with organic, non-GMO ingredients and no preservatives.

“It’s a little bit different than what the area’s seen so far,” he said.

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Russ Underwood and Marina Nikolic co-own Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe that recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.(Photo: Tim Aten/Naples Daily News)

The couple stumbled upon the bakery’s location in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt from hosting a booth of Angelic Desserts at the farmers market held Saturdays at the retail center. The bakery’s space next to Pei Wei most recently was Sweet Tooth Fairy Gourmet Bake Shop and previously had been Refresh and Salad Creations eateries.

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Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe recently opened next to Pei Wei Asian Diner in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.(Photo: Tim Aten/Naples Daily News)

Nikolic, a Serbian native, is a former bakery manager who perfected her recipes and discovered what’s popular with customers at farmers markets in North Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero and Sanibel during the last few years.

“There’s been a pretty big demand for her to open a retail location, so here we are,” Underwood said.

The bakery truly had a virtuous start and will regularly earn its angel wings by selling special heart-shaped cookies in packages tied with purple ribbons near the register. Sales will benefit and raise awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a national nonprofit organization established in an effort to cure and control the genetic lung disorder.

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Sales of these special cookies benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples. (Photo: Tim Aten/Naples Daily News)

“Our daughter had CF and she passed away last year. She was 17. Angela is her name, so that’s kind of where this started,” Underwood said. “The cookies are going to go to charity. They’re going to go to CF Foundation. It’s called a cookie for a breath.”

Nikolic said “baking for a cause” helps her. Angelic Desserts displays a healthy concern in other ways, too, by offering gluten-free and vegan options for baked goods, even Key lime pie, cheesecake, carrot cake and a triple-berry ricotta tart.

The bakery also specializes in cookies ($1), bite-size desserts ($1.99) and cupcakes ($3.50), as well as pastries such as muffins ($3.25), cinnamon rolls ($3.75) and croissants ($3.25-$3.99). Everything is made in-house from scratch, except the bagels ($1.99), which are imported directly from New York.

Nikolic boils the all-natural bagels here, but she imports them because she said the New York water makes the difference.

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Bagels at Angelic Desserts bakery and cafe, which recently opened in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.(Photo: Tim Aten/Naples Daily News)

“Nobody makes boiled bagels here. We’re the first one to bring them in,” she said. “They come overnight like a dough and we bake them here so they are still fresh. We want people to know we carry New York bagels imported directly.”

The coffee at Angelic Desserts is organic, too, of course. In addition to drip and cold-brewed coffee, a variety of espresso beverages are on the menu.

“We’re going with a boutique roaster out of Miami. It’s single-origin coffee. They go and sort it themselves. It’s roasted the night before we get it. It’s amazing,” Underwood said. “The teas are the same way. I just went over to Miami, and the guys that we’re getting tea from actually go to China each year for five months and pick the teas. I’ve never had anything like it.”

Traditional teapots steep the tea, and the iced tea is made fresh to order, too.

Salsa Cuban Restaurant & Lounge opened at the end of July in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt in North Naples. (Photo: Tim Aten/Naples Daily News)

Salsa Cuban Restaurant

Salsa Cuban Restaurant & Lounge opened at the end of July in Shoppes at Vanderbilt. The large space with a full bar and indoor-outdoor dining previously was home to a trio of restaurants: Absinthe, The Basin and most recently French Folies.

Although the sign outside labels Salsa as a Mediterranean restaurant, the sign on the building will be changed soon to reflect the restaurant’s cuisine, said co-owner Laura Rodriguez, who wears a Cuban flag on her bright red apron.

Rodriguez owns and operates the restaurant with her husband, Lester Herrera. Both were born in Cuba, and they moved to the United States in October after living in Chile for 20 years.

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Laura Rodriguez is co-owner of Salsa Cuban Restaurant & Lounge, which opened at the end of July in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt in North Naples. (Photo: Tim Aten/Naples Daily News)

The restaurant’s most popular menu item is ropa vieja ($18), a classic Cuban dish of shredded skirt steak braised in tomato, onion and criolla sauce. Of course, the traditional Cubano sandwich ($10) is a lunch favorite, Rodriguez said.

Entrees ($10-$18) include dishes made with beef, pork, chicken, lamb and seafood. These include palomilla steak, picadillo, grilled salmon and a whole fried red snapper.

In addition to Cuban cuisine, Salsa also features a few specialties from Peru, such as ceviche made by Cesar Machiavello.

“I prepare the best Peruvian ceviche you have ever tried as well as the best pisco sour,” Machiavello said.

Salsa seats 180 patrons inside and another 70 on a patio along its eastern side. The restaurant has live music or entertainment on the weekends and frequently hosts parties and events such as wedding receptions.

“We have the best mojitos in town,” Rodriguez said. “There is no secret, just heart.”

Salsa, 2355 Vanderbilt Beach Road, unit 200, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. The restaurant is closed Mondays. For more information call 239-601-0709 or go to salsarestaurants.com.